Preseason Predictions
1. MIT
2. Babson
3. Coast Guard
4. Clark
5. Springfield
6. Emerson
7. Wheaton
MIT- MIT was so close last year to winning the NEWMAC and making the NCAA tournament and I mean so close! MIT finished 2023 with a 12-6 overall record and a 4-2 conference record. The two conference losses they posted last year came to Babson and Springfield and both games were within 2 goals. MIT revenged an loss earlier in the season to Springfield in the NEWMAC Tournament Semi Final game which set them up for a date with Babson who they fell to 14-15 in their last game of the season. The NEWMAC final game had it all, a lot of scoring, big hits, fast breaks, and even over time. Unfortunately for MIT they lost in overtime 14-15 the same exact score they lost two weeks earlier. Hats off to Babson because it is never easy to beat a good team twice but you had to feel for this MIT team in 2023, they were so close!! You know this team is fired up coming into 2024 and looking to claim the NEWMAC title in May. This 2024 MIT team may look a little different but the end goal is the same and they are going to fight to get there, and lets see who is going to be making plays all season long. Heath Nilsen 54 points, Zach Bleil 44 points, Bryce Metalios 43 points, Nick Stiles 41 points, Dylan Nelson 21 points, Garrett Campagna 21 points, and Bennet Stankovits will all be making big contributions on the offense this season. On Defense Luke Chapman 23 GBs 20 CTs, Nico Bowden 35 GBs 18 CTs, and Patrick Timons 29 GBs 14 CTs will be holding it down. At the faceoff X Matthew Sardis is back who is a huge play maker winning 69% of face offs last season. When you have a guy winning that many faceoffs your team is in a good position to score goals and win games. MIT going through some challenging games in the out of conference schedule to get them ready to make a run in the NEWMAC. Games to watch include Western New England 3/2, Endicott 3/6, RPI 3/9, Bowdoin 3/19, Hamilton 3/27, and Colby 4/3. This MIT team is going to be an exciting team to watch this season and to see if they can revenge the short ended season last year and win the NEWMAC.
Babson – Babson put together an awesome season in 2023. They finished with an overall record of 13-5 and finished a perfect 6-0 in NEWMAC play. 2 of their 5 losses last season were 1 goal games as well, Babson was playing some high level lacrosse throughout 2023. They claimed the NEWMAC title and punched a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Once in the tournament they revenged an early season loss again Williams and took them down 16-10. Unfortunately the season came to an end against RIT in the NCAA tournament. Looking into 2024 obviously Babson wants to run back the NEWMAC title but like many of the teams this season in the NEWMAC Babson as lost a huge group of offensive play makers from their 2023 run. The top 4 point leaders from a season ago are gone who made up for 262 points a season ago. This is a huge hole to fill, but there are some bright spots with the returning cast for Babson. Bennet Smith 39 Points, Topher Bower 37 points, Jacob Tauss 27 points, and Christian Brofft 20 points are all back and will have a lot more responsibility on their shoulders to lead this Babson offense. On Defense Dillion Quinn 40 GBs 24 CTs, Sammy Kalishman 50 GBs 12 CTs, and Brendan Maher 33 GBs 8 CTs are back looking to once again slow down NEWMAC offenses. Babson will have their hands full in 2024 as they look to rebuild the title team from a season ago. They have some strong pieces returning that will allow them to remain competitive and be in the conversation come the end of the season, but I believe the biggest piece that will make or break this Babson season is going to be who steps up on offense and coming off a title run are their incoming freshmen who are ready to step on the field and make immediate impact? Time will tell and hang with us to see how it shakes out for Babson in 2024.
Coast Guard- Coast Guard had an up and down season in 2023. Overall they went 6-9 and 2-4 in conference play. Coast Guard started the season with big wins over RPI, Western New England, and Grove City. It was a hot start and for a while we thought Coast Guard was on their way to another NEWMAC title and a run in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately things did not play out that way in 2023 for Coast Guard as they fell in the NEWMAC Semi Final tournament game in a tight 14-15 loss to eventual NEWMAC champion Babson. Keep an eye on coast in NEWMAC play in 2024 as they get back on track and compete at a high level and in the top of the NEWMAC. Some out of conference games that will get Coast Guard ready for NEWMAC play are 2/17 RPI, 2/24 Nichols, 3/2 Norwhich, 3/6 Maritime, 3/16 Salve Regina, and 3/20 Trinity. I expect Coast Guard to win at least 4 of these games and If they can find ways to win against RPI and Trinity that should be a good sign for this team going forward in NEWMAC games. The challenge for Coast Guard this season is going to be backfilling on the offensive side of the field with key players that have graduated. Ryan Hunter 29 points, Ian Feely 28 points, and Patrick Smith 17 points will be looking to lead the team on offense in 2024 and fill the gaps from the top 3 point leaders that will be missed this season. Good sign for Coast Guard is the defense where they are returning the core group from 2023 that made big plays and posted 12 goals against average. Oliver Bolton 56 GBs 28 CTs, Freddy Wheaton 37 GBs 20 CTs, Nick Butler 42 GBs 17 CTs, and John Bragaw 22 GBs 15 CTs are back and will be the leaders of this team in 2024. I am excited to see what this Coast Guard team can do in 2024 and how they can backfill on the offensive side of the ball in 2024.
Clark – The Clark Cougars put together a 5-10 overall record last season and went 3-3 in NEWMAC conference games. Clark found themselves in the NEWMAC tournament quarterfinal game where their season ended to Coast Guard to revenged an early season loss to Clark. The outlook for Clark in 2024 is that they will be battling once again for the 4/5 spot in the NEWMAC. Clark has some holes to fill both on the offensive side of the field and defensive side. Depending how players step in those spots will be a key for their performance in 2024. Lets take a look at some guys who are going to be making big plays for the cougars in 2024. Matt Wells 31 points, Colin Howard 22 points, Attilio LaVecchia 21 points, Patrick Liddy 16 points, and Matthew Minkwitz 10 points will be leading this Cougar offense in 2024. The Cougars defense posted a 13 goals against average in 2023 and they will be looking to improve on that average this season. The guys helping drive that average down this season will be Jason Tautel 38 GBs 19 CTs, Jake Nudelman 15 GBs 7 CTs, Brett Newman 16 GBs 6 CTs, and Keegan McMahan 11 GBs 5 CTs. Getting themselves ready for the NEWMAC play the Cougars start the season with Curry 2/17, Nichols 2/21, Mass Maritime 2/24, Umass Boston 2/28, Wentworth 3/8 and Plymouth State 3/13. This is a solid out of conference schedule and should provide some pretty competitive games for the Clark Cougars. Having competitive games early in the season will be big for this team as they look to backfill spots on both the offensive side and defensive side. It always pays dividends to be in tight games early in the season and build that chemistry with your brothers on the field and hopefully identify who is going to step up when the team needs it most. Clark should put together a solid season in 2024 and remain competitive within the NEWMAC.
Springfield- Had an extremely challenging schedule last season which landed them with 6-10 overall record. The strength of that schedule definitely helped them come NEWMAC play because once they got into conference games they went 5-1. 2024 doesn’t look much different on the schedule front, this Springfield team is going to go through the gauntlet getting to NEWMAC play. The season starts with Nazareth 2/17, Stevens 2/24, Union 3/2, Amherst 3/6, Endicott 3/9, Middlebury 3/26, Western New England 4/2, and Wesleyan 4/17. That’s 8 games throughout the season of top caliber D3 lacrosse, but once again this challenging schedule is going to have Springfield ready to cruise in NEWMAC play. Aside from the challenging schedule it appears another challenge Springfield is going to face this year is the fact that the top 5 point leaders from last season were either graduate students or seniors. Between the four of them that is 205 points that will need to be made up. This season keep an eye on Jaiden Gaudet 13 points, Matthew Webb 10 points, Nicholas Savastano 9 points, and Brady Soldo 9 points to help fill the gap and take the next step in their college careers. On the other end of the field keep an eye on Gavin Carzello 70 GBs 35 CTs, Toby Oliveira 33 GBs 16 CTs, and Dominic Pellegrino 19 GBs 10 CTs. Springfield will have its challenges this season but they will still hang around in the NEWMAC. The big question will be how do the younger players step up and control the offense in 2024.
Emerson - In 2023 the Emerson Lions posted a 5-12 overall record and went 1-5 in NEWMAC conference play. Emerson struggled in NEWMAC conference play last season but as they come in 2024 they look to get back on the winning side of things. Good news for Emerson is it appears they are returning a good amount of fire power coming in 2024 with 5 of their top 7 point leaders from a season ago. If Emerson is going to hang around in the NEWMAC and get back to that winning way we will be hearing a lot from the following guys. Birk Swan 74 points, Jack Burns 59 points, Aedan Kiniry 28 points, Benson Offit 22 points, and Kurt Schwarz 18 points. Malcom McGrath will be back in goal for the Lions who posted 53 % save percentage from a year ago. McGrath has been on the Emerson Campus for a while now and has a ton of experience to lead the lions in 2024 on defense. In front of McGrath key players making their return to make plays in the NEWMAC are John Marcone 26 GBs 18 CTs, and Charlie Van Beuren 25 GBs 11 CTs. The Lions start the season with a solid out of conference schedule starting with Skidmore 2/13, Wentworth 2/17, Bates 2/21, St. Josephs Maine 2/24, Emmanuel 2/28, Vassar 3/2, Lasell 3/6, Kean 3/9, and Widner 3/12. Emerson did not shy away from stacking their out of conference schedule to get them ready for NEWMAC play. Emerson has the pieces in 2024 to make an improvement from the 2023 season. Time will tell if the Lions will be able to put some things together and find themselves in a better position within the NEWMAC.
Wheaton- Wheaton is looking to rebound from their 2023 campaign where they went 6-10 in their overall record and 0-6 in the conference record. In 2023 they started 4-0 and hit a wall and struggled to find their groove throughout the season with younger players in key positions. As Wheaton enters into 2024 they are focused on finding their groove and competing in the top half of the NEWMAC. Luckily for Wheaton they are returning players in key spots that will be improving on their personal seasons from a year ago. On offense let’s watch Charlie Racine 43 points, Mike McLaughlin 43 points, Jack Board 28 points, and Charlie Krause 14 points. The NEWMAC can’t sleep on this offense as there will be a lot of fire power back that is fueled to put together a rebound season. On Defense Jacon Wharton 75 GBs 50 CTs, Tiago Paula Santos 38 GBs 16 CTs, and Pason Fielding 20 GBs 13 CTs will be holding it down again this season in front of John Drew. Drew posted a 48% save percentage a year ago between the pipes as a sophomore. In the first three games of the season Wheaton is looking to go 3-0 and put together strong wins to build confidence heading into NEWMAC play. The season starts with UNE 2/17, Gordon 2/24, and Anna Maria 2/29. Keep an eye on this Wheaton team in 2024 they could be a surprise In NEWMAC play with all the experience they have returning and looking to mature in front of our eyes.